On Wednesday the 1st
February I was very pleased to attend Peter Kirk’s funeral service in
Winchester, ON. It was an unexpected death caused by a fall from a
ladder at home. The chapel was full with about eighty in attendance and
included Charlie and Linda Gunning from the class of 1956. Peter and
Charlie served in submarines together and he knew Peter’s wife, Barbara,
and the family, whereas I had not met them before. It was a typical
Anglican service conducted by the Rev. John Organ, a former army
chaplain and the current incumbent at St. Mark’s Ottawa. Peter’s casket
was draped in the white ensign with his cap and three roses on top. To
each side of the casket were two, large, most remarkable models of 17th
century sailing ships built by Peter. They are in exquisite detail in
every respect as can be seen from the photographs. Clearly he had great
skill and patience. Barbara informed me that he had done some 40 ship
models over the years. Barbara said that she would be very happy if I
would give this report for our class web site.